Backward Sullia is home to three MPs

MANGALURU:

Sullia

,

southeast of Mangaluru

, is considered the most

backward taluk in Dakshina Kannada district

and yet it is home to three sitting MPs including a Union minister. DV Sadananda Gowda, Shobha Karandlaje and Nalin Kumar Kateel are all from this nondescript taluk.


Union minister Gowda, who represents Bengaluru North in the lower house of Parliament, is from Mandekolu; Dakshina Kannada MP Kateel is from Kunjady; and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Karandlaje belongs to Charvaka village.

All three are BJP members who will seek to retain their seats in the coming general election.

The trio had to move out of the constituency to further their political careers since Sullia is a reserved seat for the past several decades. And although they were born in Sullia and it is close to their heart, the three contribute little to local politics.

Of the three, Karandlaje and Gowda have held plum ministerial berths. Gowda, who served as chief minister of the state, has held portfolios such as railways, law and justice at the Centre. Currently, he is the Union minister for statistics and programme implementation. Born in Devaragunda, Mandekolu village, which is close to Kerala border, Gowda was elected MLA from Puttur constituency twice between 1994 and 2004.

Karandlaje, who also contested the assembly polls, went on to become minister for panchayati raj, power and food and civil supplies. She too launched her political career from Charvaka village and was later elected as MLC.

Kateel has moved to Mangaluru city, but regularly visits his mother in Kunjady. A BJP worker, Kateel contested for the first time in the 2009

Lok Sabha polls

against political heavyweight Janardhana Poojary and emerged winner. He again won in 2014 and is looking to make it a hattrick of wins next month.

Gowda is contesting

Lok Sabha elections

for the fourth time, while it’s the second time for Karandlaje.

Sullia is situated close to the Western Ghats and borders Kodagu district. It is surrounded by forests, but has poor transportation, suffers from frequent power outages and, compared to other taluks in Dakshina Kannada, lacks infrastructure (hospitals, administration and education institutions) and other facilities.

The taluk is dominated by Vokkaligas, Muslims and SC/ STs. It registered a high polling percentage of 83% in the assembly elections last year, bettering its 82.37% in the elections in 2013.